By Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Franchise owner Mark Refosco and building company president Bill Goreschak of Arthur Rutenberg Homes are finding creative ways to compete in this market through Marcus Allen Homes, an independently owned and operated franchise of Arthur Rutenberg Homes.
During the boom, national builders were coming into Jacksonville and buying up all the available land. Now, the change has allowed smaller builders a new opportunity to be a part of new communities.
“Most of our building in the past has been on lots people own,” said Refosco. “As a result, our average price was well over $1 million. Our new direction is to get established in neighborhoods where there are many lots out in front of us and to diversify our pricepoint.”
The company has the Duval and St. Johns county territory Refosco says they are taking full advantage of the opportunities.
A recent project is Mission Trace in St. Augustine, a 90-lot community which will feature an upscale smaller product that starts in the mid to high $200’s.
“They are kind of like baby Rutenbergs but their square footage is from 1,700 to 2,800,” said Goreschak.
Mission Trace is on SR 16, across from St. Johns Community College.
“They are smaller lots, but it is an all Arthur Rutenberg community,” said Refosco. “We are building the homes in Spanish style architecture to keep the historic flavor of St. Augustine.”
A model home is completed and is open for customers. John and Patti Vavrinak make up the sales team.
The newest project is Madeira, a 450-lot community on U.S 1 on the north end of St. Augustine. Those homes will range from mid $300’s to $700,000 and will be from 2,200 to 4,000 square feet.
This community will have other builders in addition to Arthur Rutenberg Homes, which has two model homes under construction in there at this time. Joan Refosco and Cindy Gulotta are on the sales team.
“Our current project is in the heart of Ponte Vedra Beach. It’s Montura, a 20-lot community,” said Refosco. “This product starts at 2,800 square feet for high $600’s and extends over a $1 million.”
They will start recruiting a sales team for the Montura community soon.
The market has affected how many homes they build a year.
“At the peak we were building 35-40 homes a year. Now, we are getting down to much lower than that,” said Goreschak. “We are going to close 13 homes this year.”
But, with the diversification, they may be able to capture more of the market for next year.
“The diversity that we’ve been able to achieve now with this new market and new dynamics is a lower price point and smaller house,” said Refosco. “But, we are still reach to the over $1 million truly custom home buyer and still build on scattered lots.”
Goreschak said they are building on scattered lots in areas including Pablo Creek Reserve and Queen’s Harbour.
“We still have that and still appreciate that business for sure,” said Goreschak. “But we are diversifying with a much broader range.”
The company has expanded services to include remodeling and home maintenance.
Most of their business is coming from people relocating to Northeast Florida.
“Jacksonville is still an exciting place and an attractive place to people living in other states,” said Refosco. “We are seeing continued migration from the north, but we are also seeing migration from the south.”
Refosco grew up in Pittsburgh and has owned Marcus Allen Homes for eight years.
“I went to school for architecture and then picked up civil engineering,” said Refosco. “I moved to Florida in 1984 and worked for a land surveyor for seven months and then for Charlie Brown at Summerhomes. That’s what got me excited about home building.”
Goreschak grew up around real estate.
His father was a custom homebuilder in Boca Raton and his mother was in real estate.
“After college, I moved to Jacksonville and worked at The Haskell Company doing design/build commercial construction for about six years. When I left there I went to Seda Construction Company where I was for 10 years - the last four or five as chief operating officer,” he said.